Let Me Be Your Shoulder To Cry On
by Vote14Caskett
Summary: When tragedy strikes Ally's life, her world is changed forever. She starts to retreat back into the shell of a person she used to be, but much worse. Can Ally's friends help her through what will be a very difficult time in her life? Or will they lose her forever?
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: When tragedy strikes Ally's life, her world is changed forever. She starts to retreat back into the shell of a person she used to be, but much worse. Can Ally's friends help her through what will be a very difficult time in her life? Or will they lose her forever? **

Ally ran like she had never run before. She couldn't believe she was late - she was never late! In fact, she was the perfect example of punctual. She finally reached her destination and threw open the doors to her Dad's music store, Sonic Boom.

'Hey Al-' Austin started to say; only stopping when he realised Ally was running straight passed him.

Ally didn't even spare a glance in Austin's direction before running up the stairs to the practice room and slamming the door behind her.

'What's up with her?' Austin asked Trish.

'It's her weekly Skype chat with her Mum.' She said, not looking up from her magazine.

'Oh, I knew that,' He said, then turned his attention back to his colouring book.

Ally hurriedly sat down and turned her laptop on. She couldn't wait to see her Mum, and it would be the last Skype call as she was coming home next week. She wasn't sure how long her Mum would be home this time, but she promised it would be longer than the last visit.

After what seemed like forever, her laptop finished loading and she was logged into her Skype account, only to see that her Mum wasn't online.

Confused, Ally sat there and waited for her to come online. It was weird, Ally thought, that she wasn't there waiting. It's not like Ally was _really_ late, she was only late by a few minutes.

As she didn't have anything better to do, Ally decided she'd wait for her, so she got out her song book and started writing.

Looking up from her songbook, Ally was startled to realised the hours had just flown by. Looking at her laptop, she was again disappointed to see that her Mum had yet to come online. She felt like something was wrong, this just wasn't like her. If her Mum was going to be late or wasn't able to make it at all, she would have sent an email at the very least. They had never missed their weekly chats since she had gone back to studying Gorillas.

Ally was pulled out of her thoughts by her phone ringing. Looking at the caller I.D. she knew it was not a local number. Hoping it was her Mum, she answered.

'Hello?'

'Hello, is this Allyson Dawson?' The voice on the other line asked.

'Yes it is, who is this?'

'Do you know how we can reach your Father, Lester Dawson?'

'He should be back soon. What's going on? Who are you?'

'I'm Doctor Ben Gibson. I'm part of the medical team that is accompanying your Mother, Penny Dawson, on her research with the Gorillas. I'm sorry to inform you that there's been an accident.'

Ally started shaking and her heart started to pound against her chest so hard she thought it would burst out. She couldn't seem to get enough air into her lungs and she could feel her eyes starting to sting with tears.

The door suddenly swung open to reveal her three best friends. As soon as they saw the state she was in, they immediately grew concerned.

Ally, however, was barely paying attention to them.

'What happened? Is she ok?'

'Have you got someone there with you?'

'Is she ok?' She asked a little louder, scaring her friends a little. They had never seen her like this before.

'I'm afraid there was an accident. Your Mother passed away this afternoon. We-'

Anything else the man had said to her was a mystery, as at that moment, Ally dropped the phone in shock, and it hit the floor.

'Ally! What happened? What's wrong? Ally?' Austin asked, rushing to her side.

Austin was starting to panic at the state she was in. She just dropped her phone onto the floor and was standing there, seemingly frozen on the spot. She had lost all colour in her face, there were tears in her eyes threatening to spill, and she was shaking like a leaf.

Trish was by his side trying to get Ally's attention, but nothing seemed to be working, Ally's body was in shock.

Dez walked over and picked up the phone from the floor before glancing down at it.

'Who was it?' Trish asked.

'I don't know. It must have disconnected when she dropped the phone.'

'Ally! Ally, come on, what's happened?' Austin urged Ally gently to snap out of it, reaching out to touch her shoulder. He just really wanted to know what had happened to get her so upset. He had never seen her like this, and to be honest, it scared him. He didn't like seeing her upset over anything, and he just wanted to know how to make it better.

Austin's touch seemed to bring her out of her frozen state, and before anyone could react, she bolted out the door, down the stairs, and out of Sonic Boom.

By the time Austin, Trish and Dez raced out after her, she was nowhere to be found.

Not ten minutes later, Lester Dawson ran in to the store to see his daughter's three concerned friends pacing through his store.

Seeing him, they almost tackled him and started bombarding him with questions.

'Do you know what's happened with Ally?'

'She got a phone call and got really upset, then she just took off!'

'We don't know where she is!'

They all spoke at once, but when they caught the same distraught look on his face as was on Ally's, they immediately became quiet and waited for him to explain.

'Ally's Mother had an accident while with her research team. One of the Gorillas got too close, and they did everything they could, but she couldn't be saved.' Lester said, a sob caught in his throat. For even though they had been divorced, he still deeply cared for her, even loved her. How could you stop loving the Mother of your child? He was very concerned about Ally; he knew this would destroy her.

'Oh my god! I'm so sorry Mr. Dawson!' Trish said, pulling him in for a hug.

'Poor Ally. Where is she? We have to find her!' Austin exclaimed. He so badly wanted to pull her into his arms and never let her go. He didn't know what she was going through, he had never lost anyone before, but he knew she would need all the support she could get.

'Let's split up, it'll be faster that way. Make sure you all have your phones with you,' Lester said.

They all nodded, and then set out, each taking a different area.

Ally ran as fast as her legs could go, not seeing much through her tears. Somehow she ended up in a secluded part of the beach. She usually hated the beach, the sand, the sun, and the many things that could kill you in the ocean. At the moment, none of this mattered to Ally, once her feet hit the sand, her knees buckled and she collapsed onto the sand.

The tears she had been trying to keep at bay suddenly let loose and she started to sob uncontrollably. There didn't seem to be enough oxygen in the air for her lungs to swallow and she started to take short, shallow breaths, trying to get the air she so desperately needed. She started to feel dizzy, and black spots were quickly appearing in her vision.

Before she knew it, her body fell back onto the soft sand, and everything went black.

**A/N: So…what did you guys think? Should I continue? Let me know your thoughts! You know what to do, leave a review, favourite or follow this story! **


	2. Chapter 2

Austin was beyond worried. After they had split up, he went to all the places he knew she liked (the library, the park, the music room at school, her favourite cafe) but she was no where to be found. He was starting to run out of ideas until he thought of where most people would go to be alone, de-stress and think, and the only place he could come up with was the beach. He knew Ally wasn't a fan of the beach, but he had no where else to look and it was worth a shot.

He didn't bother going to the main beach where all the crowds were, knowing that would be the last place she would be when she wanted to be alone.

Austin checked his phone to make sure the others hadn't tried to contact him, before starting to walk along the beach, to the more secluded area.

Not far into the walk, he had reached the part of the beach he was looking for. He hoped he would find her there. He just wanted to be there for her in anyway she would let him; he just wasn't sure how to do that. He had never been the best at comforting people, not knowing whether to say something, or let actions speak louder than words and give them a shoulder to cry on.

He knew, even though she hardly got to see her in person, that Ally and her Mum were close. Watching them together almost reminded him of two sisters, rather than a Mother and her Daughter. He was deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Penny Dawson. He had only met her that one time, but he instantly took a liking to her. Maybe it was because she reminded him of an older version of Ally. Their personalities were so similar, not to mention they looked so alike as well.

He couldn't imagine how Ally was feeling, this must be killing her. Losing a parent at all would be heartbreaking, but losing a parent so young would be worse. Ally still had so much growing up to do from her teenage years to her years as a young woman, and that is the time when you most need your mother.

Austin hadn't been walking too long when he had spotted something on the sand. Curious, he walked closer to it, not sure what it was.

To his utter shock, he realised as he got closer that it was his best friend, Ally.

'Ally!'

Running the rest of the way, his heart pounded rapidly in his chest.

Kneeling down next to her in the sand, he could see she was unconscious, though he could see no obvious reason as to why.

'Ally? Ally, can you hear me?'

His shaking hand felt for a pulse on her neck, and was relieved to find one.

Pulling out his phone, he called for an ambulance. While he was impatiently waiting for them, he called Ally's Dad, Trish and Dez to let them know the search party could be called off and let them know what happened. Austin was going to ride with Ally to the hospital, and the others would meet him there.

He wasn't sure what happened, but he was now even more worried about Ally.

Austin sat in the hospital waiting room, along with Ally's Dad, Trish and Dez. It seemed like they had been waiting forever, when finally a Doctor came out.

'Friends and Family of Allyson Dawson?'

'Yes, I'm her Father.' Lester said, stepping forward. 'What happened? Is she ok?'

'Mr. Dawson, your daughter is fine and is now awake. She seems to have suffered a panic attack and fainted due to lack of oxygen. She's responding well and once you've signed all the release forms, you're free to take her home.'

'Thanks Doctor.'

'Any idea what could have caused the panic attack? Has she been known to have them before?'

'Uh, yes. She just got the news that her, uh, Mother passed away today. But no, she's never had a panic attack before.'

'Well, try to keep her calm and well rested, and if it does happen again keep calm and gently talk her through it. Also, get her to use a paper bag to help her control her breathing. You can pick up the release papers at the front desk. Once those are filled out, you're welcome to go to Allyson's room and take her home. She's in room 304. And Mr. Dawson? I'm sorry for your loss.' The Doctor said, looking at him sympathetically, before walking away.

'You three can go wait in her room if you want. I'll just sign all the paperwork, and then take her home.' Lester said to his daughters friends.

Austin nodded, then led the way to her room, eager to see Ally awake. Despite their failed and very brief romance, Austin still loved her. They had never exchanged 'I love you's' to each other, but once they broke it off, his feelings didn't dwindle, they only grew. Though he had only just recently admitted it to himself, he wasn't ready to admit it to anyone else at the moment, much less Ally. Obviously now was not the right time, but someday soon, Austin would like to tell Ally how he truly felt.

Opening the door, Austin wasn't sure what to expect, but it wasn't this. Ally was sitting upright in her hospital bed, just staring out the window.

'Ally?' Austin asked only to receive no response.

'Ally it's us, your friends.' Trish said, slowly approaching her bed.

'We've come to take you home.' Dez said to her.

Still nothing.

Not sure what else to do, the three friends sat with Ally, hoping their presence would help to comfort her.

Ally sat in the hospital bed, staring out the window, yet not really seeing anything. Her mind was elsewhere; even she didn't know where it was. She was in sort of a daze, she couldn't hear or see anything around her. All her thoughts were on one thing, and only thing only, her Mother. It felt like a horrible nightmare that she would wake up from, or a sick joke someone was trying to play on her. Deep down, though, she knew this was all very real. Her Mother was gone, and she wasn't coming back.

Ally knew she had her Dad, and her three best friends to help her through this, but she just didn't know how to let them in. She had always felt loved by the people around her, but never had she felt so alone before.

**A/N: So sorry it has taken me so long to update. Did you like this chapter? Sorry if it's a little short, I just wanted to get something up for you guys! Let me know what you think – review, follow or favourite! Until next time, thanks for reading - you all rock! Merry Christmas! **


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